LAS VEGAS—Tablets are all the rage at CES 2011, and Japanese company NEC has jumped into the fray with the LT-W Cloud Communicator, a slate with dual touchscreens that unfolds like a book and runs Android 2.1.

Don't get too excited, though — it's not coming to market anytime soon. NEC reps told PCMag that the tablet would be first introduced in Japan, probably in the next six months, and there are currently no formal plans to take it anywhere else. NEC is a system designer/manufacturer, and licenses its products to other companies to bring them to market, so if and when the tablet comes out, it in all likelihood won't have the NEC brand.

I dropped by the NEC booth to get some quality time with a prototype LT-W (which company reps tell us is NOT called the LifeTouch, despite reports to the contrary, including an early version of this one), and came away with grudging respect. The dual 7-inch touchscreens are resistive, not capacitive like most smartphones and other tablets. Thus the touch interface wasn't as senisitive as I would have liked, but it was still better than I expected (an ugh stylus is provided for users that have trouble). The TFT LCDs were definitely more muted than your typical LCD, looking more like color E Ink (which could be a good thing for many applications).

The LT-W's ARM Cortex A8 processor did a good job of keeping up with my button pressing, app switching, and Web surfing, though I didn't try out any video. It's easy to switch most apps from a single screen to spread across both screens, allowing you to double your screen space (nice for the drawing app) or help you see things closer by putting a full image on the left with a zoomed portion on the right.

It looks a little hefty but only weighs 1.2 pounds, or about six ounces less than an iPad. Closed, it's about an inch thick. The three hard buttons and navigation pad, which are on the bottom of the left side, definitely feel less elegant than a Droid phone, but remember this is a prototype.

Final judgment on the LT-W Cloud Commuincator really depends on the price, which hasn't been determined, and what it'll be used for. NEC reps said they didn't have a specific target customer for the tablet, leaving that open to their partners, but they did mention schools and hospitals as likely places it'll end up first.

Get Our Best Stories!

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.